Liver damage

lurcher98

lurcher98

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Bare with me this is a longish post.My 20 yr old dartmoor got very sick at the beginning of the year and we nearly lost him,http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?649994-Poorly-pony-(-any-advice-welcome After lots of inconclusive test the vets finally decided it was acorn poisoning.
The follow up tests showed his gtg (I think) levels were high, although a biopsy showed his liver was showing signs of regeneration and hepatitis c was diagnosed.http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?662780-Hepatitis-c
After consultation between our vet and a specialist at liphook it was decided to put him on steroids, this caused laminitis so he had to come off them. The specialist then said they had a study in progress about some horses being fed hay getting liver damage so the decision was then made to replace hay with hayledge and he was put on pentoxyfyllin(trental)and azathioprine. The next few tests showed the levels were returning to normal.
The latest set of tests have showed the levels we were treating for are now normal but other levels are now going in the wrong direction :( he has also developed anaemia. The specialist has advised us to stop the azathioprine but keep him on the trental.
The reason for my post is really to see if anyone has any experience of this and to kind of brainstorm for ideas as its starting to feel like it's all going wrong :( dandy is still full of it and his normal cheeky self
 
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Sorry to hear of this. We lost one to suspected acorn poisoning (never had PM but hunt said stomach full of acorns) from the forest. My son's pony was ill with hepatitis in June and spent 2 nights in horsespital. Cause was never established but she's well now. I feed her milk thistle to help with liver function. Maybe this could help?

Just read your post and realised that I replied to you previously too. Are you still feeding milk thistle? I've decided to keep April on it as she looks so well.
 
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Yes he's still on milk thistle and vitamin e. Its just such a worry, he seems to make huge improvements then something else goes wrong :( there have never been any signs of acorns in his poops when he was originally ill so there was never a definite diagnosing.
 
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lurcher98 said:
Yes he's still on milk thistle and vitamin e. Its just such a worry, he seems to make huge improvements then something else goes wrong :( there have never been any signs of acorns in his poops when he was originally ill so there was never a definite diagnosing.
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Speak to Dodson and Horrel, their nutritionist is working with the Senior liver disease in horses. Have you asked your vet about lagaphyton|???

http://www.horsenutrition.co.za/ind...ent&view=category&layout=blog&id=54&Itemid=88

Things to help the liver

Legaphyton (with milk thistle) http://www.equistro.co.uk/ProductPage/LEGAPHYTON.html
Gold Label - Rescue
Licorice Root
Dandilion
Tumaric
real lemon juice
Immuplus
nettles
 
UK forage is high in Iron and low in Copper and Zinc.

Copper & Zinc help the liver run efficiently.

Iron blocks the uptake of Copper and Zinc. Too much Iron is bad for the liver.

To counteract this you need to supplement Copper and Zinc.

Lack of copper causes anemia in horses.

Talk to the lady that runs www.forageplus.co.uk She was very helpful when my horse had liver problems.
 
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Not sure if you read it, but there was post on liver conditions last week (which I also posted on) as I have 3 with the same. I feed a special liver support supplement devised by my vets. not sure if it actually does anything but the levels are slowly returning to normal (but I have moved yards and changed hay as well) and also feed milk thistle etc.
 
Hi
My cob mare Millie was diagnosed in February 2007 with liver disease and liver damage after becoming ill. We were told it was just bad luck she got it and not down to anything in particular. A normal horses liver count is between 0-50 and her's was 4000. It was a very black time for us as everything we did didn't help and having her put to sleep was the answer to end her suffering. Reading this you may think I'm not being much help, and just making you feel worse, but the point is, the consultant told us to chill out, take her off all drugs and just enjoy her, we did this and 7 and a half years later Millie is still with us and is the best she's been for years after turning her out 24/7 a year ago.
It's not easy when you can't see the problem and have to trust the vets completely and I'm sure like us you think in the middle of the night that maybe the vets have it wrong, but if it had been up to us Millie would of been put to sleep in 2007 but Millie wasn't ready to give up which gave us the strength to go on and she proved everyone wrong by still being her today.
Good luck
 
Sorry forgot to say, there are several things that a horse with liver problems shouldn't be fed, Alfalfa, split peas and cereals also veteran mixes. This makes for great fun when looking for feeds but what's life without a challenge.
 
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